The Quest (Sanshlian Series Book 1)

by Dani Hoots

  I thought back on the past few weeks. First my brother was alive, and then I was sent on a mission to find what he wanted from me. One thing led to another and I betrayed the Emperor to get to some stupid planet. Now Jack had betrayed me, Neil didn’t trust me, and Tom wanted to shoot me. I guess the last thought hadn’t changed but it didn’t help the situation. Amanda was dead and Rik was still in shock. There was nothing I could do but find Sanshli and let destiny take its course.

  The dreams were getting worse as time went on. I woke up in cold sweats each time so I tried to stay away from sleeping. I passed the time looking over the books and in here, punching my frustration out on a poor defenseless bag of sand.

  The time came and the planet was within sight. It taunted us as we all waited on the bridge as it slowly got bigger and bigger in the space-screen. We watched as it finally lay before us. It was an emerald gem, covered in jungles with lakes scattered about. Will sent out a transmission to see if there were any beings left. There was no reply.

  “Where do you want me to land?” Will asked as he started the procedure to enter the atmosphere. Everyone felt the fear that infected the room, the fear that the Empire could be right behind and shoot us down at any moment.

  “Near there,” I gestured out the space-screen. “That appears to be the biggest city.” It also looked familiar but I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to be reminded as to what awaited me down there.

  “Are you sure?” Will made sure I was absolutely confident before he started the landing sequence. He had stopped accusing me of things ever since we had our little talk. I didn’t know if that was better or worse.

  I nodded. “Positive,” I pointed out a clearing in the forest that surrounded the city. “Land there.”

  “Alright then,” Will started the landing sequence.

  I clutched Jack’s seat in front of me as it was a bumpy landing. The area I had him land in was a little tight, having the branches of the tree scrape against the ship as it landed. Rik and David strapped themselves into the other seats but I just stood and held on to the seat in front of me. If I wasn’t used to a little bumpy landing, what kind of servant to the Emperor would I be?

  “Well,” Will started as he clicked the last pair of buttons. “That’s it then. We are here.”

  I let out a deep breath. “We are.”

  Jack stood up and grabbed my hand, giving me a look to not get my hopes up. I knew the Emperor was close behind but we had to try. We had to try to beat them. I glanced over to Rik, finding him still there as the emotionless, pile of nothing he had been since Ttkas. There was no evidence of excitement or intrigue for what we had just found. All he wanted was his revenge.

  “Shall we?” Will stood and gestured towards the corridor. Rik and David led us as we headed towards the ramp and onto the planet’s surface.

  It was just like the dreams. The star’s heat beat down on us like a massive drum. The muggy heat combined with moisture in the sky made it barely breathable. All of this had been as vivid in my dream. I peered around. The jungle that stretched across the land was the same. The plants, the flowers, the air. It was all the same.

  Something inside of me began to panic. Was it here? Was that beast here? Was it waiting for me like in the dreams? I looked around steadily for any movement. I saw none.

  “What’s wrong?” Jack questioned, seeing my concern.

  “Nothing, I suppose,” I kept studying everything around us.

  He wrapped his arm around me. “It’s not like you to be concerned about nothing. What is it?”

  “Something in my dream is missing,” I turned to him and smiled. “But it is a dream after all. Wouldn’t be exactly the same now would it?”

  “I wouldn’t know Cadi, I haven’t really been in this situation before,” Jack replied. “Never gone out on a mythical planet in search to restore the Second Republic all based on a person’s dreams.”

  He had a point; we really didn’t know. It could be here. The creature of the darkness.

  We started for the city, pushing our way through the thick jungle that lay before us. Sweat began to form on my forehead and I didn’t know if it was from the heat or from the fear of what lurked ahead. We crept forward, Will and Jack chopping down the vines with their machetes to make a pathway through the dense jungle. Rik, David, and I followed behind, listening for anything that seemed to be out of place, such as Imperial ships. I listened for other things I knew could be there.

  That was when I heard it, a slight growl.

  I stopped. “Did you hear that?”

  “Hear what?” David asked as the rest of them moved forward. I heard it again as if it came from all directions.

  “That noise,” my voice became shaky.

  I wasn’t one to worry or lose myself but I could feel myself slowly begin to slip away. It had been haunting my dreams for years and now here it was. Waiting.

  “What noise? I don’t hear anything,” David shook his head as if he thought I was going crazy.

  The noise became louder and louder. I could tell from David’s face that he began to hear it too. Jack and the others stopped, now hearing the noise.

  “What is that?” Jack questioned.

  I started shaking and backed away from all of them, peering around quickly trying to find where it was coming from. “It’s my worst nightmare. It has come for me,” I fell down to my knees and let my face drop into my hands.

  “Cadi,” Jack started to reach for me, but it was too late. Before any of them could approach me to calm me down, a ghostly dark figure jumped out of the jungle. It came like a shadow in the night and engulfed me. Fast and silent. I didn’t scream nor fight it. Just like my nightmares, it was here and it was waiting and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I didn’t know how it knew I would come but it did. It was ready for me just as if it had always been. It took me far away from the rest of the crew. I heard them calling after me but before I could reply, they were gone and out of my sight.

  Chapter 20

  I watched the jungle go by as the creature took me where it wanted to go. It wasn’t like it carried me, but more like engulfed me in some kind of dark force-field-like substance. I felt like I was floating and had no control over where I was going. I simply let it take me without struggling or trying to get away. I didn’t want to know what it would do if I tried to resist it.

  The beast didn’t make a noise as it carried me further and further into the jungle. I wondered what it wanted from me. I never did find out in my dreams. It usually didn’t catch me but let me be as I entered the city. I hadn’t even got near the city before it took me this time. Now here I was, floating to some unknown destination. I didn’t think this mission could get any worse but it always did.

  It finally stopped and let me drop to the ground. I quickly rolled over and looked up at the beast. I couldn’t make out any solid features other than its beaming yellow eyes. It let out a roar that echoed through the jungle. I tried to stand up but it pushed me back down with what appeared to be giant shadowy paws.

  I crawled backwards from it as it started to slash at me. It tore into my clothes and ripped into my skin. My blood soaked into my clothes. I kept trying to get away but it was no use. I felt my back hit a tree stump. I had nowhere to go. I looked back up to where its eyes were. It peered back. Its stare sent shivers down my spine but at least it stopped clawing me. I glanced down at my body, now covered in scratches.

  The creature came closer, now practically on top of me. Its breath was warm against my skin. It revealed its large fangs and let out another roar. I didn’t move. I knew I couldn’t get away; it wasn’t like anything I had seen before. It appeared like a shadow, not really there, but it was and it could do anything it wanted. I at last admitted that something could defeat me. This was a first. I could die a happy woman.

  “Why are you here?” the beast questioned.

  I blinked, confused by what I had just heard. Did the beast just ask something? I opened my m
outh, not sure of what to say. “You... you can talk?”

  It let out another roar. “Answer the question!”

  I shook my head, not knowing what he would want. “To fulfill the prophecy. To bring peace to the galaxy once more.” I hoped that was enough. It was true, either way you looked at it. Destroy the P.A.E., bring back the Second Republic, both would make peace in the galaxy.

  The beast backed off and stood on his hind legs. The shadowy figure started morphing into something more recognizable. Seconds later, the thing became fully human. It was a man. I rubbed my eyes, not sure of what I had just seen. I was still waiting to wake up from the nightmare as I did every night. That never happened. This time it was real. This time I had to face the consequences.

  “Sorry about that,” the man smiled. “Have to scare off the people who want the power Nygard holds. I’m the guardian of this place. Name’s Brayen of Platt. Most just call me Bray,” he greeted.

  I sat there astonished. The man was tall and slender, not someone you would expect to be the guardian of the planet.

  “You’re the guardian?” I had always thought a guardian of a legend like this would be large and fierce, not scrawny and weak looking.

  “Do I not meet your expectations, fair miss? Don’t act like it’s such a surprise. Kind of hurts my feelings. Besides, appearances don’t matter here. I’m more powerful than you could ever dream,” Brayen grinned. “Or I guess you have dreamt of me so that’s not a good analogy,” he held out his hand. “Need help up?”

  I grabbed his hand and he raised me to my feet. He had greying blonde hair but his face still made him appear to be in his early thirties.

  “I don’t understand, how did you do that?” I asked, more relaxed now knowing I wasn’t going to die.

  “Everyone here is given a gift when they are born. Powers to enlighten the universe with is how they put it in grade school. I don’t know how that’s possible when they wouldn’t let us have anything do with the humans, looking back on it now. Anyway, mine is the power of illusion,” he explained with a little emphasis, as if he was proud of his heritage. “As you can probably already tell.”

  “An illusionist? I thought you were all lost in the war.” I recalled the stories. Father had always said they were all killed when Nygard gained all the power and turned evil.

  He nodded. “Yes, most of us were. Only a few survived. It was brutal but Violet helped me. She knew she could trust me to make sure no one with evil intentions takes the sword out of Nygard.”

  I was still at a loss for words. “You knew Violet?”

  “Yes, she was one of my best friends. I could always confide everything in her and she in me. That is why she knew she could turn to me when her husband became all evil. He didn’t like me to begin with, and when he found out she came to me he was even angrier. He almost killed me, but through a little luck I got away. Violet then made a spell to hide me from him until she froze him into the rock. Now I am here waiting for you,” Brayen explained as the distant memories came back to him.

  “But,” I tried to recall everything I knew about the legend. “That was over a thousand years ago. How are you still alive?”

  “We age much slower than humans do. Our typical lifespan is about two thousand years. I am almost at the end of it now. Violet also cast a few spells to keep me going, but I can feel that magic beginning to wear down. Let’s just say I feel a lot older than I appear,” he said with a slight sigh.

  “So you have lived here all alone? For a thousand years? You don’t look nearly that old.”

  He laughed. “Thanks. I have been here alone for a while, other than the occasional visitors who come for the power Nygard holds.”

  “There have been others that have come looking for Sanshli?” We had found the book though, how did the others find this place without the book? I wondered if there had been other maps.

  “Yes, others that are interested in the power.”

  “What others?”

  Brayen turned away for a second, listening. I heard it too, the faint sound of a ship landing. Neil was here. He turned back to me. “Come, we don’t have much time. I must take you to the city.”

  “Wait, what about my crew?”

  “They are already almost there,” he explained as he led me towards the city. He must have brought me closer to the city when he was in the ghostly beast figure, that way we could get there faster.

  The humidity of the jungle seemed to calm down since he had kidnapped me from the crew. It began to cool down and I became almost comfortable. I wondered if Brayen had anything to do with it. He did use his power to move the foliage out of our way. This was very convenient and I wondered how much energy it took for him to use his power like that. Not much I presumed. I wondered how powerful he was. I knew compared to Violet and Nygard he was weak, which made me think of how powerful those two had been. Brayen had a lot of power from what I could tell, but that could be from Violet as he mentioned earlier.

  As we walked towards the city, more questions began to pour into my mind. There was a lot I didn’t understand and I didn’t even know where to start.

  “Why didn’t you attack the rest of the crew? Why did you single me out?”

  “Because,” he crept forward, not losing his pacing, “you are the only one who mattered. None of the others can get into the building that holds Nygard.”

  “Why is that?”

  He let out a slight laugh. “You are asking me a lot of questions.”

  “That’s because there is much I need to know, even more I don’t understand,” I persisted.

  “True. I presume I am as good as any person to tell you. Violet would have wanted me to I suppose.”

  “Tell me what?” I inquired with a little bit of force behind my voice. Old habits die hard.

  “Tell you that you are the only one who can open the door, the only one who can stop Nygard.”

  “Me? What are you talking about? Why me?”

  He stopped to face me. “Because you are his daughter. You are their daughter.”

  I looked at him like he was insane. All these years alone must have made him lose part of his mind. There was no way I was the daughter from the stories.

  I shook my head. “What? No, I’m no Sanshlian, I am from Garvner. My father raised me until I was six; I’m not some Sanshlian illusionist. There’s no possible way,” I denied the idea.

  “It’s true. Violet sent you far into the future with the resources so that you may one day find Sanshli and end this war.”

  “That’s impossible, I’m not her daughter. I am not the daughter of some... some... legend!”

  He shrugged. “It is true, I was there. You are her.”

  “I can’t be; I look just like my parents and my brother. There is no possible way,” I argued. It couldn’t be true, it just couldn’t.

  “That’s because when Violet sent you into the future, she changed your appearance as well. She made you fit in. You would have stood out if she hadn’t,” he tried to reason. I kept shaking my head. This couldn’t be true.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  Brayen held out his hand and a mirror appeared in it. The sudden materialization made me jump slightly.

  “Look into this and you will see your true appearance,” he held the mirror up. I peered into it. I didn’t see myself, but a blonde haired, fair skinned woman. She had violet eyes that shone brightly. I about dropped the mirror.

  I shook my head. “No, no, this is just some trick! Some stupid trick!”

  The mirror disappeared from his hand. “It isn’t some trick, it’s true. Look at yourself. Moments ago you were covered in wounds and now you are fully healed. Your powers are awakening now. It is time for you to finish this.”

  I ran my fingers through my hair. “Finish what? What am I supposed to do?”

  “Destroy Nygard and finish this war,” he stated as if it was common knowledge.

  “Finish this war? What war? The war of the Sanshlian
s has been over for centuries.”

  Brayen shook his head. “No, the war has never ended. There are still others out there that want to release him so that they can become powerful again. Nygard’s followers.”

  “Followers? I thought he didn’t trust anyone, that’s why he destroyed everyone and everything all those years ago.”

  “No, there are others, those who would give their lives over and over again to bring him back. They have been trying for quite some time now. They need to open the door but can’t since only you can open the door. Although that didn’t stop them from trying.”

  “What? Why can I only open the door?” I asked.

  “Come, we need to hurry. I will explain on the way,” he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the city. “When Violet cursed Nygard, she put a seal on the door that only the one she chooses can open. Some of them came right after she disappeared and used their magic together to try to open the door. I stopped them before they gained any power but a few got away. Every once in a while, they would come back and try again. Each time they weren’t successful.”

  “Who tried to open the door? Who has that power?”

  “Those like you and me, illusionists and even other Sanshlians who think they can handle it. Just so you know, they can’t. Believe me, they really can’t,” I wondered what exactly he meant by that.

  “Why don’t you open the door and become powerful?” I asked. The thought must have occurred to him and he would know better than anyone else how to get in.

  “Because I was there, and I saw what it could do. I saw the evil it brought to this world. I made a vow that I wound never let it come back.”

  “So Violet thinks that I am the only one who can stop Nygard? Why me? Why couldn’t she stop him?”